# Accident 20080717844019A: Piper PA30, Rockport, TX, July 17, 2008

- Type: FAA accident report (Accident/Incident Data System), as reported
- Date: July 17, 2008, 10:10 local time
- Place: Rockport, TX
- Airport: Aransas Co
- Damage: Substantial damage
- Operating rules: General operating rules (Part 91)
- Location: 28.0853° N, 97.0400° W: From the FAA
- Nearby events: https://openairdocs.org/map.md?lat=28.0853&lon=-97.0400&mi=10
- Aircraft: N44HM (not matched to a registry record)
- Reported make and model: PIPER PA30
- Reported engine: CONT IO360*
- People aboard: 3
- Fatal injuries: 0
- Pilot flight hours: 17,500 total, 668 in this make and model, 54 in the last 90 days
- NTSB investigation: [NTSB DFW08CA193](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DFW08CA193) (OpenAirDocs)
- FAA source: FAA Aviation Safety Information Portal (https://asip.faa.gov/)
- Page: https://openairdocs.org/incident/20080717844019A

## Narrative

As the FAA filed it, in capitals; the FAA replaces private details with ^PRIVACY DATA OMITTED^.

(-23) PILOT STATED THAT AFTER A ROUTINE TAXI AND ENGINE RUN-UP A NORMAL TAKE-OFF ROLL WAS INITIATED, UPON REACHING ROTATION SPEED THE AIRCRAFT SETTLED ONTO THE RUNWAY WHEN THE GEAR PREMATURELY RETRACTED. THE TWO PASSENGERS AND PILOT EXITED THE AIRCRAFT WITHOUT INJURY. THE AIRCRAFT SUSTAINED SUBSTANTIAL DAMAGE. THE LANDING GEAR AND GEAR WARNING SYSTEMS WERE SUBSEQUENTLY CHECKED WITH AIRWORTHINESS INSPECTORS PRESENT AND FOUND TO FUNCTION PROPERLY, THEREFORE THE FACTS INDICATE PILOT MISMANAGEMENT OF THE LANDING GEAR SELECTOR MECHANISM.

## The NTSB's investigation of this event (1)

From the NTSB's public API. Aircraft are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported serial number, make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.

- [NTSB DFW08CA193](https://openairdocs.org/ntsb/DFW08CA193), Jul 17, 2008: Piper PA-30 (N44HM), Rockport, TX, substantial damage. Probable cause: The pilot's failure to complete all cockpit checklist items prior to takeoff. Contributing to the accident was the pilot's failure to properly configure the landing gear switch.

From the FAA Accident/Incident Data System. Reports are matched to registry aircraft by N-number and event date, checked against the reported make and model; the registry's history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model. For accidents, the NTSB's own investigation is the fuller record.

---
OpenAirDocs.org is an independent research project of [Contrail Labs](https://contraillabs.com/). It is not affiliated with the FAA or the NTSB. Source documents are U.S. government works in the public domain.